ニュース 2010/06/04 Kan elected as new DPJ President On June 4, following the resignation of Yukio Hatoyama as President of the DPJ, a General Meeting of DPJ Diet members was held and member of the House of Representatives Naoto Kan was elected as the new President of the DPJ. Members of the House of Representatives Shinji Tarutoko and Naoto Kan ran as candidates in the election. Each made a speech detailing their political philosophy and called for support from Diet members. The result was 291 votes for Kan compared with 129 for Tarutoko. Eligible voters were incumbent DPJ Diet members, 423 in total. There were 420 valid votes, with 2 invalid. In his appeal, Tarutoko expressed his gratitude for having the opportunity to run in the election, and went on to say, “The best way for us to transform this crisis into an opportunity is for all of us to work as one. We need to gather the wisdom of the masses, the opinions of the people, and overcome this crisis facing Japan. Alone I am powerless, but if we 400 Diet members can be as one, we can do a thousand times the work. I may be powerless, but I would like you to believe in this possibility and give me your support.” In his speech, Kan said that he wanted to continue with policies that had been engaged in by Prime Minister Hatoyama, and cited (1) regional sovereignty, (2) the new concept of public service, (3) the East Asian Community and (4) global warming countermeasures, saying he would like to make every effort to pursue these issues. Furthermore, in order to break Japan free of its stagnation, he said that he would like to realize a strong economy, strong public finances and strong social security. In addition he said that he would like to re-establish a Policy Research Committee within the DPJ so that everyone would be able to participate in the debate. The chair of the election committee Tadamasa Kodaira announced the results of polling and these were confirmed by a round of applause. Following this, the Chair of the General Meeting Ryu Matsumoto called for the floor to reconfirm the announcement of the election committee, and this was received by another round of applause. Newly elected President Kan and his defeated opponent Tarutoko then appeared together on the platform. The two exchanged a firm handshake. Kan said, “I would like to issue a promise that I will not take sides. Let’s work together to combat the difficult political situation and win the fast-approaching House of Councillors election. We are in charge of the government. The DPJ President must take on the weighty role of Prime Minister. I would like to create a proposal for rebuilding Japan together with you all, and I am resolved to lead the party, so I would like not just those whose seats are at stake in the election, but also the members of the House of Councillors whose seats are not up for election this time, and the members of the House of Representatives to have the same resolution. After winning victory in the House of Councillors election I would like to work to create a full-fledged administration with you all.” Tarutoko made a short speech, saying to Kan, “I would like you to lead us to open the way to a new era in politics.”